With LLeyton Hewitt’s legacy on the court extending to a 17th run at his maiden Australian Open title next year, his legacy off the court, particularly in his home state of South Australia, should be getting attention.
Tennis in South Australia has for most part been behind the rest of Australia with only three Grand Slam singles champions in the history of the four slams.
Adrian Quist (Australian Open in 1936, 1940 and 1948), Ken McGregor (Australian Open in 1952) and Lleyton Hewitt (US Open 2001, Wimbledon 2002) are the only South Australians to win a singles Grand Slam title.
In fact when Hewitt won his first Grand Slam and became the world number one, he was the first South Australian to do so since McGregor 49 years before.
Recently Hewitt also took over from Quist as the leading winner in Davis Cup, with the record held by the South Australian since 1948 when he won 43 times in his representative career.
Now it seems Hewitt is passing the baton on to a new batch of South Australians and others who – like me – have watched Hewitt in their living room since they were children.
For starters there is Cobdogla local in Luke Saville who, at 18 years of age, has already tasted success in the juniors and climbed 900 spots in the ATP rankings this year.
Last year, the Riverland talent won the juniors at Wimbledon and continued that this year to become the third Australian winner in six years of the Junior Australian Open.
He also followed that up with his first professional win on the Pro Tour with a win in Thailand and then in Cairns earlier in the year.
With a big chance Saville could be given a wildcard into next year’s Australian Open, the world’s the oyster for the South Australian.
Another who has enjoyed a bumper 2012 is 19 year old Alex Bolt, with the South Australian from Murray Bridge also climbing the rankings this year.
After starting the year at just under 900 in the world, one Pro Tour win in Australia earlier in the year and another last week at Hong Kong have seen Bolt rise up to 450 in the world, making him another youngster to look out for on the pro circuit.
The success of South Australians continues at the Under 18s and 16s level with Thanasi Kokkinakis and Bradley Mousley having recent success in both titles.
Kokkinakis, from Seacombe Heights in the south of Adelaide, was a recent finalist at the Under 18 championships, losing to Canberran Nick Kyrgios in the final.
With a current ATP ranking of 751 in the world, the 16 year old is already starting to make a name for himself in the tour and many are tipping him as another potential star for the future.
In the Under 16s, South Australian Bradley Mousley took out the title defeating Harry Bourchier in three tough sets.
The South Australian, from Wynn Vale – north of Adelaide – is currently just outside the top 1000 in the ATP rankings and after tasting success in the juniors this year he could be another player to keep an eye on.
Finally, fellow South Australian Jack Schipanski – currently 927 in the world – is another to look out for in future years.
After recently competing in the Under 18 championships and failing to make it past the round robin phase, 2013 will be a big year for Schipanski as he moves from being a junior to playing in the seniors.
Indirectly or directly, these five players are the legacy of Hewitt’s career, with his performances improving tennis in South Australia.
In the case of Luke Saville and Jack Schipanski both have Hewitt as their inspiration for playing tennis. For others, Hewitt is seen as the benchmark if they want to be successful.
Current Australian number one Marinko Matosevic has found inspiration for his feats this year from the South Australian champion, while former number one Bernard Tomic has also cited Hewitt as a key to his success at Wimbledon last year.
At the end of his career, Hewitt will go down as one of the greats of the modern era of tennis, his legacy off the court though will make sure Australia and South Australia have players ready to replicate his success and add to the list of Grand Slam singles winners.
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